Blue Skies
by Always Ethereal
Summary: Bella's trance is cutoff when she's relocated to Florida. Whats to do but change? With a new name, new clothes and potential new boyfriend, she can erase Edward. But theres more to that then just forgeting and more to Jacksonville than just blue skies. AU
1. Epiphany

**Description (basically the same, but the complete one wouldn't fit):**

**AU. Bella's trance is cut short when she is relocated to Florida. What can she do but change? With a new name, new clothes, and potential new boyfriend, she can easily forget Edward. But there's more to that then just forgetting and more to Jacksonville than just blue skies.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the respective sequels, nor do I own the characters in said novels.**

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Epiphany

The knock on the door shattered my trance. I stood up slowly, disconcerted, and made my way towards the door. Who could possibly want to see _me_? I could only think of one person.

As son as that thought crossed my mind, I desperately tried to erase it, to forget- but it didn't work. I doubled over, feeling the old pain. The hole that I had tried so hard to ignore, to hide in the back of my heart, was painfully torn open. My defenses broke down like the walls of Jericho. I gasped for breath, willing myself to sink back into my lethargic state. Anything was better than that pain, anything. Even nothing.

Someone knocked on the door again. It couldn't be him. I couldn't, wouldn't give myself that hope. Because when it wasn't, the hole in my heart would only get bigger.

I stumbled towards the door, my breath still ragged, and grasped the doorknob. The door opened with a creak and I found myself face to face with Renee. Despite my promises to myself, my heart panged. It wasn't him.

I stood there awkwardly for a moment, fighting my emotions, building my wall back up. As soon as I felt it was strong enough, I spoke. "Mom."

At my words, Renee broke out in a pained smile and pulled me close to her chest. "Oh, Bella." She murmured. "It's time to take you home." She pulled away and looked at me expectantly. I stared blankly back.

"I _am_ home." I replied, confused.

Renee shook her head. "We're going home to Jacksonville, Bella." I stared at her. Downright stared. What had she said?

It took a minute for her words to sink in.

What would I have been feeling right now? Shock? Anger? But I felt nothing. The wall held everything back.

I nodded mutely and headed up the stairs to my room to pack. What else was there to do?

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I threw my clothes into the open bag at the foot of my bed, the one I had taken up from Phoenix, barely even aware of what I was doing. I tossed in my toothpaste, toothbrush- everything I owned. I silently said goodbye to my room, willing all of the memories I had here, the ones I didn't have the strength or will to remember, all of those memories to stay put in this room. To never bother me again. To be forgotten so that I could move on…

And then it hit me. My epiphany all over again. _I needed to move on._ It seemed so simple, so blatantly obvious, that I almost laughed. I looked back towards my bag, at the blue sweater peeping out from the top, the one that Edward had loved me in…

Oh. It had just slipped out… I readied myself for the oncoming pain, the memories of days past, of days past spent with someone _who had never loved me._ Who had already moved on. Just like I needed to.

I waited patiently for the onslaught. The gut-wrenching, throbbing, pain in my heart. It came, but dully. Almost like it was close to giving up.

_Was I really over him?_ I thought to myself.

_No._ I answered back firmly. _But I would find a way._

As I left the room, a floorboard squeaked underneath my foot.

_Goodbye to you, too._

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The flight to Jacksonville had been long at best. I passed the time watching every single movie they offered, which were mostly straight-to-DVD-crash-and-burn-ers that each featured some famous person that somehow made the film worthwhile. When those were all over I started reading Wuthering Heights. Again.

Renee practically leaped into Phil's arms when she saw him at the Jacksonville airport. I decided to be polite and excused myself to the bathroom.

I stood in there for about fifteen minutes, lathering my hands with soap and letting my thoughts wander. But not too much. I might have been stronger, but I didn't trust myself enough to think of… _that_. As I wrung my hands dry to return to Renee and Phil, I caught my reflection in the mirror. I looked horrible, truly I did. But that could change. I would just have to reinvent myself, to be someone different.

_To be someone different._ The words ping-ponged around my head. _Reinvent myself._ To be an anti-Bella.

I made my way back to our terminal just vaguely aware of my surroundings; coming up with plan after plan.

"Bella!" I heard someone call. My head snapped up from habit. It was Renee, waving her hands wildly. I sped up, barely avoided tripping, and arrived at Renee's side. "We've been waiting forever! Are you okay?"

I nodded. "And Mom?" She looked at me expectantly. "It's Izzy now."


	2. Pieces of Bella

**Thanks to my two reviewers, Djorlcc and Misfit band geek. But could I get more reviews, please? Please?**

**Okay. Whatever you say.**

**Sorry for the very long time it took to update. I'm busy. Very. Not much time to write or update.**

**I forgot to do this last chapter (update! I added it in the last chapter!), so please don't sue me, but…**

**Disclaimer: Anything recognizable as Stephanie Meyer's in this story is hers. Seriously.**

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Pieces of Bella

The mall in Jacksonville was huge. And hugely overwhelming. I stood in the middle of the sliding doors for a second in awe before some pushy lady with a toddler shoved me through, muttering something about rude teenagers with no respect. I stumbled forward and tripped (of course), falling flat on my face. There were no cold arms there to catch me. No one even stopped to look.

Renee had insisted I get new clothes with the money from Phil's new major-league salary. Three nights before, when we had arrived back at the house from the airport, she had handed me a credit card, as a "welcome home present." I was shocked, but Renee didn't seem to notice, and went on about how there was five thousand dollar limit on the credit card that I had to use until the end of the school year. Five thousand dollars. Then, three days later, after I had gotten settled in, she had driven me to the mall and left me there; the credit card stuffed into my jean pocket along with Phil's old cell phone so that I could call when I wanted to be picked up.

After I had recovered from my fall, disoriented as I was, I managed to make my way to the mall directory.

When I did I was in awe for the second time in five minutes.

There was every store you could possibly think of. Or maybe just that I could think of. I had spent most of my life shopping in thrift shops so I wasn't much for naming stores. The only time I had really ever been to a mall was that time with Alice…

I ignored the thought and quickly ran through the list of women's stores in my head, sorting through which ones sounded discount, expensive, for older women, for girls, and which ones would work for my latest persona. Then I was off, headed towards every corner of the mall to create a new image.

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Five hours later I returned to the same mall directory, my credit card $2,300 lighter and my arms weighed down with countless bags that barely allowed my blood to circulate. I had gone to Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, American Eagle, and Aêropostal for clothes. I was officially prepped out. The lady at the make-up counter at Macy's had given me a complete makeover and I had bought all of the products she used on me along with a ton more. I did look pretty. And pretty different.

Shoe shopping had to be the worst. I had tried to hobble around in a couple pairs of heels, but, being me, I had only purchased flats. I didn't change _that_ much.

As a final goodbye to Bella, the new me, Izzy, removed my credit card from the pocket of my old jeans, which I had changed out of, and threw them, along with my old shirt, into the trash can. I had to erase every part of the old me.

Then, in all my new preppy glory, I sauntered outside. It didn't work quite as well as I had hoped. As I walked through the sliding doors, my toe caught on the pavement and I went sprawling towards another face-full of cement. But right before I hit the ground, two strong grasped my shoulders. It couldn't- and it wasn't. The arms were tan and warm.

The arms pulled me to my feet and I found myself face to face with a tan, light-brown haired, golden-eyed boy around my age. The football star, Abercrombie model (even _I_ know about that), girls throwing themselves at his feet kind of guy. I could feel my cheeks turn red.

"Th-thanks." I stammered. His eyes still held concern. His golden eyes. Just like-

I didn't continue the thought. It was pointless, anyway. _He_ had made a point of assuring me I would never, ever, ever see him again. There was no point in dreaming. Or even thinking about it.

Feeling another bit of the huge weight lift off of my back, I returned my thoughts to the present situation.

"Are you okay?" The boy was saying.

I managed a brief laugh. He looked at me quizzically, his eyes urging me to explain. God, what is it with me and eyes? "Don't worry about it." I said. "I'm accident prone. I trip so much it's not even worth the thought."

The boy cracked a smile and released my shoulders from his steady grasp. "Do you want some help with your bags?" It was then that I noticed that I could feel my fingers and that my bags were strewn across the mall entryway. Apparently, I had caused quite a scene. People still shot us odd looks.

"That would be great." I replied, bending down onto the knees of my new Hollister jeans. We picked up my stuff in silence for the few minutes it took to get everything together.

"You bought a lot of stuff." He observed as he handed me back an Abercrombie & Fitch bag.

Oh. I really must have looked like a really big wanna-be right then; little, pale, ugly me, with a whole new wardrobe from, well, **those** places. He was probably used to dealing with girls meant to shop there. Or girls too good to shop there. Either way, it wouldn't be anyone like me.

I blushed again and did my best to explain. "New wardrobe for a new location." I shrugged. Surveying the sunny skies, I added, "I'm not sure if any of my Washington clothes would go very far here." He nodded in agreement.

"So you're from Washington, huh?"

"I lived there for a while." I clarified. "I mainly grew up in Phoenix."

He looked skeptical. "Mainly?"

"Mainly." I repeated, shrugging again. Thankfully, he didn't pursue the subject.

"Well, I better get going." I finally said. "Thanks for all of your help." He smiled again. I was really beginning to like his smiles. I turned away and dug my hands in my pocket for Phil's cell phone. It wasn't there. Becoming slightly panicked, I checked all of my back pockets and then, finding it wasn't there, began frantically searching my bags. Without the cell phone, I couldn't call Renee. And without Renee, I couldn't go home.

The only thing I could think of to do was to go back to the mall. I turned a half circle and bumped into something hard. Looking up, I recognized it as the boy- the one who had helped me. That was strange. Didn't he just leave?

I took a moment and realized that he had a number of bags strung on his arms, including three pink-striped ones from Victoria's Secret. How… odd. It took me another moment to realize that those bags were mind. How embarrassing. I turned beet red all over again. "S-sorry." I stuttered. "I didn't realize you were still there."

"It's fine." He reassured me. "Was there something you needed?"

"I need to call my mom so she can come pick me up. I can't find my cell phone. I thought maybe there was a pay phone somewhere inside…" I let my sentence slowly fade off and turned a few degrees so I could have a straight shot to the mall door.

"There aren't any pay phones in that mall." The boy said. I turned my eyes back to look at him to meet two deep topaz eyes. "You could use my cell phone, but it would be faster for me to just drive you home. That is if you wanted me to." I blinked, breaking our connection. Were my ears deceiving me again? He wanted to drive _me_ home? No. I was hearing things. Guys like him didn't do things with girls like me. No matter what they were dressed like.

He was still staring at me. "Is that a no or a yes?" No or-

"Yes." I replied. "But one condition." He nodded, looking slightly intrigued.

"And what would this condition be?" He asked.

"That you won't molest, rape, kidnap, kill, bite, hurt, or scare me. Or anything to that effect." I stuck out my hand. "Deal?"

I had to wait a moment for him to stop laughing. "Deal." He repeated, taking my delicate, pale hand in his tan, strong one and shaking vigorously. "But I can't make any promises about the last one."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I questioned. He let out a short laugh.

"I'm not entirely sure."

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His car was nice. A Jaguar of some sort, certainly expensive. The slick black exterior was impossibly shiny and the leather interior was impeccably clean. What I found odd was that in the sea of cars at the mall, his car didn't stand out. Not in the least bit. In fact, cars like his seemed to be the norm.

I had given him the address of my new home, surprising even myself that I remembered it, and apologized for not being able to help with directions. It was only my third day. We proceeded to zoom by traffic, driving only like I'd seen-and it hurt to think it-vampires drive.

I must have been delusional. Everything reminded me of them. It was like when you learn something new, like a word that you had never seen before. But as soon as you learn it, you see it everywhere. That was what it was like with me and vampires.

When I looked back up at the boy, he was staring at me again with his golden eyes. "Jesus, look at the road!" I exclaimed. So much like another golden-eyed boy…

Everywhere. I see them everywhere.

"Sorry." The boy mumbled, returning his gaze to the road. We had been talking about food, I think, and what was naturally grown in Florida. He had mentioned something about hunting. How ironic.

"So, I never did get your name." He finally said, shattering our momentary silence.

"Oh. It's Isabella. But you can call me B- Izzy." I answered, barely catching myself.

His brow furrowed. "Busy?"

I scrunched my eyebrows together. "Busy when?"

He chuckled. "No, no, no. Bizzy. Isn't that what you just told me to call you?" I felt my checks heat up and turned my head away.

"Oh. I meant Izzy. But you can call me Bizzy if you really want to."

"Cool." I could hear the smile in his voice.

Feeling it was safe to show my face again, I turned back towards him. "You know my name, mystery man, and I'm sorry to say that you are now going to have to tell me yours." I did my best not to smile.

He chuckled again. "I'm Aiden." Struggling to keep a straight face, he added, in a most sincere tone, "And it saddens me to inform you of this, but since I have revealed my secret identity to you, I must force you to reveal yours to me. And, I tell you this with my deepest regrets, your secret identity is not just your name."

I smiled. "Okay. Well, I'm 18. My birthday is September 13. I'm a Senior in High School. I don't know what school I'm going to be going to, but I know it'll be big. A lot bigger than Forks High School, at least. Ummm… what else do you need to know?"

"Favorite color. Favorite season. Favorite animal. It's important stuff you know."

"Favorite color? Uh- lavender."

His voice was skeptical. "Lavender?"

I shrugged. "First thing I could think of. Now my favorite season… summer. And my favorite animal would be… I don't know. You can pick for me."

"Platypus. That's going to be your favorite animal."

I looked at him like he was crazy, but he had his eyes on the road. "A platypus." I stated.

He nodded. "A platypus."

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chess, returning to face the windshield. "Fine then. Next question."

"I don't know… favorite song? Band? What do you want to tell me?"

"Actually," I started. "I think it's my turn to do the asking." I turned back to face Aiden and saw his cheek turn up in a smile.

"We're almost there, but you can fire away. You have about…" He stole a glance to the car's screen, which stated 7:14 in big glowing letters. "Two minutes. Go."

"Okay. Age, grade, school, birthday." I stated, as quickly and clearly as was possible.

"I'm 18, born December 3rd. Senior year. I go to Royal Cane High School. Don't ask, I didn't name it. Continue."

I bit my lip and thought for a moment. "Favorite color, season, animal."

"Hey! You're copying my questions!" He exclaimed.

I shrugged. "So? Answer them. Time is running out!"

"Okay, okay. Geez." He held one hand up in defense, keeping the other on the wheel. "Umm… red, summer, platypus." He smiled at the last answer.

"Hey! You're copying my answers!"

His smile turned into a smirk and he shrugged. "So?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're stalling. Okay… Favorite sport."

"That's easy. Baseball. Next."

"Favorite musical." I tried to hide my grin, but like many things, it didn't work as well as I had hoped.

He stared at me for a second before looking back to the road. "Musical? Okay, my turn to ask questions again. At least when you copy the questions they'll be good questions."

I scowled. "Fine. Be that way. But you still didn't answer the question."

He didn't say anything for a little, concentrating on the road and doing what I assumed to be deciding on his favorite musical.

"And- we're here." he finally said, ending the short silence and bringing the car to a stop outside my new home. He didn't even bother to hide his smile.

I scowled. "You're horrible." I shook my head. "And if men are too afraid to answer silly questions, then what will become of the world?"

"Hey! I wasn't… afraid." He said defensively.

"Really?" My eyebrows rose. "Then why didn't you answer the question?"

He thought for a second before grinning. "I'll tell you next time I see you."

I frowned. "Next time?" His smile fell a little, but he nodded.

"Next time."

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After Aiden had helped me carry my bags to the front door and I had thanked him numerous times, he left and I was alone to face Renee.

She hadn't actually been that mad at how late I was, or that I had lost Phil's old cell phone. In fact, she was incredibly overjoyed. It must have been at how- well, alive I seemed. And that I had been with a boy. That seemed to make her particularly happy.

Overall, I was unscathed and made it up to my room in record time. After laying my bags down on my bed, I immediately set out to throwing away all of my old things- my clothes, shoes, moisturizer, hairbrush, and everything in between. I even threw out my shampoo. By the end I had filled three trashbags. One to put in the dumpster out back and two to deliver to the Goodwill the next day. That is, if they would take it.

Then I took my time unpacking my bags. I had been in a rush to get all of the old me out, but I didn't feel the need to rush unpacking. The new me was still sinking in. I splayed out all of my new clothes all around my room, lined my shoes around the perimeter of my closet, organized my make-up, moisturizers, and hair product in various patterns in my bathroom, and folded all of the rest into neat little stacks that easily fit in drawers. My clothes were all that remained unorganized.

I sat on my bed for a few minutes trying to think of something… creative to do with my clothes. Something un-Bella. Something colorful.

After thinking the word "colorful," I knew what I was going to do. I would put the clothes in my closet in rainbow order. What was more colorful than the rainbow?

I got started quickly; with tops on one side and bottoms on the other; red orange yellow green blue purple black white and everything in between.

It took me almost an hour to order it to my satisfaction; I always had to switch this with that and that with this. But finally I was happy. I pushed my hair away from my face and stepped back to admire my closet. It was then that I noticed the one flaw with my rainbow.

Not one thing I owned was blue.

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**Again, sorry for the long time it took to update. I know the last section is very rushed, sorry about that. I couldn't get it to sound right. I'm just too much a perfectionist. Anyhoo, please review! Oh, and any ideas for a better title? I don't like the current one. Thanks for reading!**


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